by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Minnesota has played nine games already. Oregon State has suited up for eight. Cal Poly has seven under its belt. Numerous programs have at least six results.

Finally, after watching for a month, UConn will play its first contest on Saturday when it battles No. 25 Davenport.

And make no mistake: the Huskies have been watching.

“Our guys see the polls and the results of games and they want to get in on the action,” said UConn coach Marc Paolini.

As the Huskies have been prepping for the ’17 campaign from their lair in Storrs, it hasn’t always been easy to keep them focused on the task at hand with so much going on around the country.

“The coaches try to keep the guys focused on what’s in front of us,” Paolini said. “This is where preseason tunnel vision helps. You focus on practice, getting better and doing your part to help the team. The last few weeks before the first game is when you can really see the guys getting amped up. They want to be tested. They want to see where they stand amongst the rest of the MCLA.”

It won’t take long for 19th-ranked UConn to find out its place in the pecking order.

There will be no warm-up contests to break in the rookies or test out some new sets. In addition to playing the Panthers on the first weekend, the Huskies will face No. 1 Georgia Tech the very next day.

The prospect of facing two ranked teams back-to-back is daunting enough, but two programs as philosophically diverse as Davenport and Georgia Tech is particularly worrisome.

“It can be difficult, if you allow it,” Paolini said. “I try to focus on the four or five things that stand out and work on them without totally derailing what we do as a program. It's best to edit instead of re-write in these situations. This is where the experience of your players helps. If they know the system, it's easier to make adjustments for a given opponent.”

The Huskies will enter the season with a distinct advantage on defense. The backline, led by outstanding close defenseman Alex Gallaer, returns nearly intact, including a deep contingent of long-stick middies and shorties. The only fresh face is that of rookie netminder Drew Duarte.

Gallaer is one of six captains this year for UConn, joining Quincy Pecora, Chris Reilly, Blake Feagles, John Takita and Chris Faherty. It’s an abnormally large group, but one that will determine how this season plays out for the Huskies.

“Our guys know it’s vital that each player does his job, but we will lean on our captains this season,” Paolini said. “We have never had six captains and I usually like to stay at four, if that. But there was no denying any of them. They all would be my No. 1 choice for captain. I told them very early on this year, ‘As you go, we go.’ They understand that. We are looking for them to drive this team and get us to that next level.”

The next level is obviously the 2017 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour, and it’s a place the Huskies have only been once before (’15). If they want to return, they’ll have to ignore the one-month head start they’ve ceded the rest of the MCLA and starting proving themselves this weekend.

Games of Note

No. 8 Colorado at No. 4 Cal Poly, 6 p.m. – Friday
The Mustangs will be entertaining both Colorado schools this weekend, and this one features the larger clash of styles. Whereas Sunday’s contest against Colorado State will be a grinder supreme that will likely produce a final in the 3-2 neighborhood, this one will cause serious challenges for both programs.

The Buffs are five games into the season and still only have one ranked win – an 18-12 victory over No. 24 Minnesota – which is somewhat of an oddity. While they don’t necessarily need this win over Cal Poly, they can’t afford to get too far behind the eight ball with Utah ascending in the RMLC. The Mustangs would like nothing more than to chew up the CU offense and keep them from getting any momentum.

What is the MCLA D-I Game of the Week for the period ending March 12?
— MCLA (@MCLA) March 8, 2017

No. 10 Arizona State at No. 9 Utah, 7 p.m. – Friday
The Utes come off their 19-day hiatus with the first home game of the season and it will be the stiffest test for their offense to date. The Sun Devils have played the most difficult schedule so far featuring the Nos. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 and 20 ranked teams in the country, and they have been in every one of the matchups. This is due primarily to a steadfast defense anchored by Johnny Perlite (66.7 save percentage).

Utah has answered the bell in the first three contests under its new regime, however, and the nearly three-week break will allow them to reset their foundation heading into games against ASU and then No. 5 Cal on Monday. If the Utes can grind past the Sun Devils, it’ll be further confirmation that this is a changed program.

No. 2 Brigham Young at No. 14 Chapman, 7 p.m. – Saturday
The defending champs have transitioned into full underdog mode, which isn’t a terrible idea heading into a string of three Top 10 games that may ultimately determine the Panthers’ fate. BYU just might be what the doctor ordered to get the ol’ Chaptown swagger back.

Sure, when the Cougars are on, they look very impressive. They manhandled Grand Canyon on Monday to push the winning streak to three, but that loss to UNLV will always be just below the surface. If Chapman can get some solid defensive play in combination with the return of Dylan Garner, anything is possible.

No. 19 UConn vs. No. 25 Davenport, 2 p.m. – Saturday
This is not the type game that will get the winner an at-large bid (if needed) to nationals, but it’s one of those contests that can knock you out of the mix with a loss. The Huskies have to make sure they don’t get caught looking ahead to Georgia Tech on Sunday.

What is the D-II Game of the Week for the period ending March 12?
— MCLA (@MCLA) March 8, 2017

No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 7 Kennesaw State, 8 p.m. – Friday
The Flyers should consider themselves fortunate to have their current ranking considering the loss to Bridgewater State earlier this spring, but they can quickly right the ship with a win over the Owls. Kennesaw has posted a 5-1 mark against a mish-mash of SELC D-I and D-II outfits, but now the schedule turns serious. Big test for both squads.

No. 3 Grand Valley State vs. No. 13 Palm Beach Atlantic, 1 p.m. – Sunday
The third game of the Lakers stop in Knoxville is slated to be its most difficult going strictly by the rankings. GVSU will have already played Minn.-Duluth and Florida Gulf Coast by the time they face the Sailfish, but the Lakeshow – learning from overly-ambitious scheduling in the past – wisely worked in an off day prior to the finisher to ensure they were fresh enough for a potential Tennessee sweep.

Meanwhile, this contest will be the sixth game in seven days for PBA, and the ‘Fish will grapple with Dayton the day before. Chris Southard’s crew might be running on fumes at this point against a GVSU squad that looks just as potent as in years past.

No. 12 Montana State at No. 5 North Dakota State, 5 p.m. – Saturday
The last time a ranked western team rolled into Fargo, it turned into a bloodbath for the Bison as Concordia rocked NDSU last weekend, 20-10. Can the Bobcats repeat the feat against a vulnerable-looking Bison team?

Montana State certainly appears to have the offense to give NDSU some issues, but stopping the Bison offense will be the real key for the ‘Cats.

No. 16 Southern Oregon at No. 24 Western Washington, 1 p.m. – Saturday
The top two dogs in the PNCLL square off in Bellingham for a potential PNCLL title game preview. There are still a couple of teams in the hunt – Montana, College of Idaho – but this will act as the Raiders biggest test within the league.